Enter the Fray
by Nocturnal Elle
Summary: A short "Spike tastes the forbidden fruit" piece. Season 4, circa "Doomed." Spike has the chip and is reluctantly helping the gang. Tara hasn't been introduced yet.


_Sunnydale at night._

The minions attacked. The Slayer kicked some ass, Xander sprained his ankle, Spike went a little medieval on some demon, and Willow was doing a pretty good job of holding her own until she was brutally shoved down a muddy hole into one of the many tunnels under Sunnydale. It was just an average night of adventure.

Nobody knew she was missing until the last of the attackers was fleeing in desperation, no doubt back to some greater master of evil. Clutching his ankle, Xander looked around from his ground-level vantage point. "Where's Willow?" The panic ensued.

"She's not with you?"

"Who saw her last?"

"Willow?!"

Buffy assessed the situation. She had to find her friend. One bad guy got away. Somebody had to go after him. Somebody had to search the premises. She was about to start delegating tasks when Xander pointed something out.

"Hey, Buff, over there… How deep is that hole in the ground?"

Spike, who was standing closest to it, surveyed the ground. "Deep," was his non-committal reply.

"Okay," Buffy began. "Spike, you go after the one that got away. Find out what he knows. Who he is, who he works for, did they take Willow…" Spike interrupted her.

"Whatever you say, love, but don't count on my getting much out of him, even with my best pretty please." Buffy and Xander looked confused. Well, Buffy looked enraged and confused. Xander looked pretty much just confused. Spike rolled his eyes.

"The one that got away was human. Can't you people smell one of your own kind? I can't lay a finger on him without that blasted little implant going off in my head."

"Alright, fine. I'll go after the runaway baddie. You go down the rabbit hole." Before Buffy set off in pursuit, she gave Spike a full-melodramatic-speech "look" that said "Find her, or else. And, oh yeah, find her in one piece, alive and well, or else."

Spike knelt by the muddy hole in the ground. It seemed to be an opening to one of the tunnels. He looked over at Xander. "If you weren't such a pathetic excuse of a sidekick, you'd be the one after the missing witch." Xander feigned a hurt look.

"Aw, you're only saying that because you got the dirty job." Then Xander's expression became serious. "Now, shut up and find Willow." Xander may have been an idiot but Willow meant the world to him and if Spike wasn't down there in a second, he would be, ankle sprain and all. Spike let out a sigh; it was superfluous, really, total show since vampires didn't need to breathe, and then he was out of sight.

Sure enough, Willow was down there. She wasn't alive and well as he'd hoped to find her, but she wasn't dead, either. He could smell blood, but he didn't see any. He made his way quickly over to her slumped form. He called her name and her eyes fluttered. She's going to have a concussion, he thought to himself. Not good.

He pulled her to a standing position. Since she could barely keep her eyes open, let alone stand, Spike supported her by leaning her body against his.

"Willow, how'd you get down here?"

At the sound of his voice, she tilted her head back to face him. "Spike? Everything's fuzzy…" Her eyes started to close again.

"No, Willow, don't do that. Keep your eyes open. I think you hit your head pretty hard; you could have a concussion. I need you to stay awake."

"Con-cushion?" She wrinkled her brow, confused, but she seemed to get what he was saying. She tried to pull away and stand on her own, but the attempt was unsuccessful and she fell into him. Her soft red hair was right under his nose. Spike held his jaw firm. This was too much.

Here was this morsel of innocence, pressed up against him, practically unconscious, bleeding already and what could he do about it? Not a damn thing. Not without those neurological fireworks going off in his head. Bloody hell.

He grabbed the little redhead by the shoulders and yanked her to face him. "Willow, keep your eyes open!" Willow's eyes widened, less in fear, more in obedience. She looked up at him, all trust and purity. Never matter that he'd kidnapped her before and tried to feed off her before… One nasty blow to the head and she did what he said was best.

"Talk to me Willow, that will keep you awake." She watched him speak to her, eyes glassed and unfocused.

"Spike…" her voice trailed off as she placed a warm hand on his cool face. "You have such nice cheekbones."

Spike blinked once in disbelief. Was she flirting with him? One astute look at her told him she was completely serious. He wasn't sure how to respond. "Thanks, love," he managed. Willow seemed to have already forgotten she said it. She crinkled her brow.

"Am I bleeding?"

Spike smirked. "Yeah, pet, a bit." There seemed to be a gash just under her hairline. The blood was beginning to trickle down her face.

"It tickles."

He looked at her intently. She was so helpless at this moment… His eyes ran over her face and neck. He could see all her veins through her translucent skin. What he would give to be able to sink his fangs into her and drink, to feel her become dead weight in his arms. She wasn't even at herself. He could make her partake of his blood and she'd be like him. These were intoxicating thoughts, and Spike reeled back, a little fuzzy headed himself.

Those options were not open to him. Damn the Initiative. But she was wounded already. He wouldn't be hurting her… He cast another aching glance at the blood making it's way down her small white face.

"Tickles, you say? Let me help you with that…" He let out a small growl as he pulled her flush against him. He bent his head to hers and slid his tongue up her cheek, around her eye and past her temple. With one hand, he ran his fingers through her hair while his other arm snaked around her lower back. He closed his lips over her wound and nursed it gently. He suspicioned that she need only whimper and the blinding pain would be on him in a flash.

After a few moments, he realized she wasn't making a sound. Oh, no, he thought. He pulled back from her slightly and was surprised to see her looking at him. She hadn't slipped into unconsciousness at all. Her lips parted to speak and he waited for her reproach.

"Wow," she exhaled.

Spike could see that she was more or less cognizant now. Though still propped up against him for support, she was more steady on her feet. He felt her muscles tense in order for her to pull away from him. Almost involuntarily, he held her tighter and drew her close. They exchanged a wordless conversation. An understanding was met when Willow stole one brief, hesitant look at his mouth. That was all the permission he needed.

Slowly, almost methodically, he brought his head to hers. Barely above a whisper, he said a single word. And as that one word, her name, hung in the air, their lips no more than a breath apart, two things happened. Willow fainted. Buffy found them.

_The next morning at Giles.'_

"Oh, my head…" Willow moaned softly. Buffy was instantly at her side.

"Will, are you alright?"

"What happened?" was Willow's only reply.

"Long story short: bad guys knocked you down into one of the tunnels. I went after AWOL bad guy, who, incidentally, got away. I sent Spike after you. You were unconscious. I found you guys. I had Spike carry you back here, to Giles's place. It was closest. And, oh, we think you might have a slight concussion."

Willow sat up, very slowly. "Well, that explains the lump of badness that is my head." She heard Spike's voice behind her.

"Hey, Slayer, that ex-Watcher of yours needs some help bringing a bunch of musty old books in from his musty old car. It being day and all, I thought you were the best candidate…" he stopped talking when he saw Willow sitting up.

"That can wait - " Buffy started to say.

"Buffy…" Giles called from outside.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Duty calls. I'll be right back." She squeezed Willow's knee reassuringly. Willow nodded mutely and winced. Mental note: cease nodding until further notice, she thought. She tried to think about the night before. Was that really all there was to the story? No, wait… there had been…

"How's the head, there, pet?"

"Better," Willow managed as Spike sat down beside her. They waited in uncomfortable silence.

"Look, I'm gonna cut right to the chase," Spike said. Willow looked nervous. Spike fired away. "What do you remember about last night?"

"Um, I remember everything was black, then everything was blurry. Then you were there and said I shouldn't close my eyes and I should keep talking, so then I…" Willow took a sidelong glance at him and mumbled "I said you had nice cheekbones." She paused and blushed for a moment, trying to recall every last detail.

Spike looked relieved. Maybe that's all she thought had happened.

"And then…"

Spike got nervous.

"You started to…" she faltered and the blush in her cheeks became a full facial flush.

Oh, shit, Spike thought.

Willow's eyes widened, "And I would've…"

Buffy and Giles were making their way up the stairs to the apartment. Spike put his finger to Willow's lips, hushing her. She looked at him demurely.

"Our little secret?" he asked with a smile. "If the Slayer finds out I had a taste of her best friend, she'd bloody well flip. And if she knew I'd almost kissed you, she'd stake me in a heartbeat."

Buffy and Giles walked in, arms full of books on the occult, the supernatural, and the just plain evil.

"Spike, could you lend a hand with some of these volumes?"

Spike stood, thankful to have a reason not to say anything more about the previous evening. He turned back to Willow.

"I promise," he vowed "It will not happen again."

Willow's mind turned back to the way Spike had cleaned the blood off her face and she shivered, delightfully. With a wistful glance at the back of the blond vampire, she said to herself Never again?

Out of the corner of his eye, Spike saw the redhead watch him. Well, I'm not a man of my word anyway.


End file.
